USA TODAY International Edition
‘Battle royale’ is Apple’s Game Trend of the Year
“Fortnite” mania didn’t just dominate traditional gaming consoles and the PC, it also made its mark on mobile games in 2018.
As Apple prepares for the end of the year, it’s App Store team has named “battle royale” – the popular “you versus the world” format made famous by games such as “Fortnite” and “Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds” (also known as “PUBG”) – as its gaming trend of the year.
“Fortnite” was the top free iPhone game this year, with “PUBG Mobile” finishing fourth. “Fortnite” was similarly the most popular free game on the iPad, though “PUBG” dropped to 13th.
Apple’s accolade is just the latest jewel on “Fortnite” publisher Epic Games’ crown.
The free game, which first came out late last year, has permeated all aspects of pop culture, from having athletes and celebrities hop online to play to its celebratory dances (called “emotes”) popping up on some of the world’s largest stages, including soccer’s World Cup Final.
The game recently crossed the 200-million player mark, with the publisher raking in more than $1 billion in revenue in just the first half of the year.
Available on iPhones, iPads, Android devices, Microsoft’s Xbox One, Sony’s PlayStation 4, Nintendo’s Switch, PCs, and Mac, “Fortnite” also has broken down some previously unthinkable barriers, allowing players to compete with one another regardless of what platform or device they want to game on.
HQ Trivia, the popular mobile quiz show that made waves earlier in the year, finished the year 16th on the “free iPhone games” list and was outside the top 20 on the “free iPad games” chart.
When it comes to general apps, YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat topped the charts for free iPhone apps while the iPad saw YouTube, Netflix and Facebook’s Messenger lead its list.
On paid apps, photo editing apps Facetune and kirakira+ were the top two on the iPhone list, followed by weather app Dark Sky Weather. On iPad, drawing app Procreate was the top app followed by note-taking apps Notability and GoodNotes 4.